Financial sector outlook 2012 – the employees’ view. 01

Financial sector outlook 2012 – the employees’ view.

Financial sector outlook 2012 – the employees’ view. 02

“ Asia Pacific region was the place to be for a pay rise at the end of 2011.”

Respondents’ job titles*

*79% of respondents’ answered the question which asked if their grade was one of the above, or equivalent.

Basic pay – largely, as you were The below received no change in their basic pay in 2011

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

US 75%

Europe 68%

Asia Pacific 54%

IntroductionIn February, Michael Page’s global banking recruiters surveyed finance professionals in the world’s leading financial centres to hear their views about the sector, their current and future employers, and their compensation.

MethodologyFinancial services workers were surveyed in New York, London, Frankfurt, Geneva, Zurich, Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mumbai, Sydney, and Melbourne.

The 2,700 respondents work in a broad range of areas of the bank, from front office positions in both the debt and equity spheres, through to support functions such as IT, finance, operations, HR, risk, audit and compliance.

“ 50% got the same, or a larger bonus, compared to 2010.”

Key findings

On compensation• 61%ofrespondentsreportedthattheydidnot receive an increase in their salary at the end of 2011.

• 75%ofMDsremainedonthesamesalaryatthe end of 2011.

Analyst, Associate or Manager 47%

AVP-VP 29%

Director, ED or MD 24%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Increased 25%

Same 25%

Lower 28%

Received no bonus 22%

Bonuses – not bad in the circumstances?

How 2011 bonuses compared to 2010*

*Of the 81% of respondents who stated that they were eligible for a bonus.

There was not a great deal of regional variation though a slightly higher proportion of the increases were in Asia Pacific.

Financial sector outlook 2012 – the employees’ view. 03

Seeking new pastures

At a time when the fortunes of banks and their employees is at a low ebb, perhaps it is no great surprise to find that 84% think about leaving the sector. Most only do so occasionally. 23% regularly consider leaving, but reflect that it is unlikely they will action it. 18% tell us they are already planning their exit.

How best to get a new job – use an agent!

We asked people about what they think are the most effective ways of job hunting. 83% believe international specialist recruitment firms are important or essential when conducting a job search. Predictably, one’s own contacts and network are deemed an essential conduit, by 48% ofrespondents.Perhapssurprisinglymorethan50%ofthe respondents feel social/business networking sites like Facebook and Linkedin are not essential, or not an approach they would take. Only 10% felt these are essential tools.Morethan57%alsofeltthatdirectapplicationstoemployers are not essential or not something they would do – proving the point that recruiters still play a critical intermediary role.

Home and away

We asked people how the performance of their home bank affect their attractiveness as an employer? Jobseekers were generallyverysanguineaboutthis–50%saidthatwhilstitis a factor, it’s not the most important one.

The global village

We asked what would be the main factors attracting people to work overseas. Money, and a career challenge, were evenlymatchedthoughmoneypippeditwith63%(vs.58%)of the respondents picking it as a key factor. Respondents in Asia Pacific were the most interested in the money. At all levels of respondent, money beat career challenge, except atMDlevel.Only6%ofEuropeanand5%ofAsiaPacificrespondents said they would not consider an overseas move, whilst 18% of US respondents would rather stay at home. The adventure alone was enough to persuade 22% oftheEuropeanrespondentstolookabroad.

“Unsurprisingly, the stability of a firm will be a key factor in attracting talent in 2012.”

“ 23% of MDs are already planning their exit from banking.”

On moving jobs

Attack or defence?

We asked about what people think are the most important factors in their job search. Money was, as always, a key factor – ranked as ‘important’ by a predictable 93% of the respondents. Reassuringly though, the factor getting the highest response of ‘most important’ at 31%, was career advancement.

Attitudes to stress and pressure were interesting – escaping it got the highest rating of ‘not important’ of all the factors, at35%.Yet,work/lifebalanceisatthesametime,highlysought, with 74% ranking it as ‘very, or the most, important’. Fear of redundancy was considered ‘not important’ as a reason for moving, by 32%.

A new feature that we have found in candidates is the desire tohaveastableandsecurebank–55%rankingthis‘very,or the most, important’ factor for them.

Does the stability and success of a bank in its home country influence how attractive it is as your future employer?

Share of ‘most important’ votes when job seeking

Share of ‘important and essential’ votes when job searching If you would work abroad, what’s the key influencing

factor?*

*Only 7% of respondents stated they would not be interested to work abroad.

Money Career Adventure

Yes a major factor Not a significant factor Local performance and prospects more important

43%50%

8%

Asia Pacific

Europe

US

44%

16%45% 39%

39% 22%39%

17%39%

31%Advance career

21%Improve work/life balance

17%Increasecomp 14%

Find a stable bank

10% Threat ofredundancy

7%

Escapestress/pressure

38%Using a recruitmentagency

22%Through onlinejob boards

17%Using owncontacts/network

Business/social networkingsites

Directapproach toemployers

12%

11%

Financial sector outlook 2012 – the employees’ view. 04

On the future of bankingWe asked respondents what they thought of the future of banking in their own region.

Europeansweretheleastoptimisticwithmorepeoplebelieving the sector will decline in importance than those believingitwillstrengthen(24%vs.21%)andthemajority(55%)feelingitwillmaintainthesameimportance.Inotherregions, a similar proportion believe that it will remain the same, but more Asia Pacific respondents were optimistic, 34% in that region considering that the sector will go from strength to strength.

What is the future of the finance sector in your country?

It will go from strength to strength

It will have the same importance as now

It will decline in importance

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

14% 52% 34%

55% 21%

54% 27%

24%

18%

“68.5% believe Asia Pacific would have the quickest recovery if there was a global downturn.”This was a sentiment expressed by the majority of respondentsinbothAsiaPacificandEurope.Respondentsin the US believed that North America would have the quickest recovery.

Which banks will fail?We asked what people feel will be the key factors that will decide the success or failure of individual banks in 2012. Predictably, profitability and business diversification were considered key with 93% and 82% selecting ‘important or critically important’ ratings for these criteria. But crucially, banks and financial institutions must fight to remain attractive as employers.

And in an era where the banks are under unprecedented scrutiny, employees know the value of customer satisfaction – 88% ranking this as important, but crucially more than half of those saying this is critical – the highest ranking of any of the factors mentioned.

“ 85% of respondents ranked ‘the ability to attract top talent’ as important or critical to the success of a financial company in 2012.”

ConclusionDespiteincreasedpressurewithinthefinancialservicesindustry, our research shows that employees’ attitudes remain fundamentally optimistic. Whilst base pay remained largely static at the turn of the year, employee confidence about 2012 bonuses is up, in anticipation of better business performance. The global nature of the survey gives a valuable insight into the consistency of opinion in the sector, underlining the truly global nature of the business and many of the companies in it.

Also, the answers we received show that employees in the financial sector increasingly view their job search in a global context. Right to work and other practical considerations play a considerable part in converting those aspirations into reality, but the sense of perspective is valuable nevertheless, given the globalisation of the industry’s business, its customer base, and its own infrastructure.

With the sector under unprecedented scrutiny and staff cuts increasing workload, an unsurprising 84% of respondents said they have considered leaving the sector. But the majority only do so occasionally, and few will follow through with action. Most employees of the sector understand its cyclical nature, and are already considering the recovery and its implications for them.

Compensation remains a critical factor for employees of the sector. Organisations must consider the erosion of employee loyalty and other factors that may drive their staff to look for a new deal somewhere else. Whether the sought after level of work-life balance can be found, and whether that remains a consistent draw when compensation levels recover, remains to be seen, but our research shows that in the current markets it is a factor that cannot be ignored.

Those employees of the sector that are considering looking for a new job, are highly likely to use a recruitment firm, according to our research. For now, social and business networking sites, and approaching prospective employers directly, are considered the least effective recruitment strategiesbyjobseekersthemselves.Employerswhocastthe net as widely as possible, will get the best returns when searching for new talent. Our next survey will be conducted in November.

Top 5 most attractive work destinations

New York London Singapore Hong Kong Sydney

18% 12% 9% 9% 5%

Asia Pacific – the opportunity